Anecdotal Stories from Coaches on the Front-line................
If you have had experience as a coach or as a teacher being coached or have had a coach in your school I would love to hear your stories....If you would like your story published on this wiki please email it to me at;gervasoni.jennifer.l@edumail.vic.gov.au Story 1..........
'I have read through your Action Research Paper Proposal and found it to be absolutely fascinating and it has made me rethink about the coachees that I have worked with in the past and the current ones I am with now. I particularly liked reading the number of factors that need to be taken into consideration when defining a teacher's readiness. One school that I am working at is very small so there is a lot of extra responsibilities that the staff have to take on and they simply get worn out, and coaching is I suspect seen as an 'add on' at this setting. The staff all have to meet me after school as well. This school has experienced a lot of unexpected change this year and it can be very disorderly place to work in. It would be interesting to find out if the staff in this setting believe that they do make a positive and lasting difference to the students lives that they teach. I think some do but others might not. The other school I am at is very disorderly in terms of a clear and well documented professional learning culture.....but this is changing because a new principal has come in at the end of term one and new structures are being put into place ( eg Professional Learning Teams) The school library is now operational and library lessons are occurring for the children in the primary department and resourcing through out the school is also being looked at and improved upon.The primary team has also lead by example and shared resources and organised maths tubs in each of their rooms. But in both these settings, particularly at the beginning of the year one did get the feeling that "student learning was being swamped by uncontrollable forces." ( I like that term) How do we as coaches fit successfully into such environments? I guess we do what has to be done and in some cases it is not real coaching first but rather supporting, mentoring and lots of light coaching stuff. Sharon Butler mentioned in her presentation at our recent city professional learning days together that "many school based coaches function in a blended model of coaching and mentoring and I think that I do exactly that. In fact the more disorganised the school is the less you coach, and the more you mentor and role up you sleeves and get in there to get things set into place so that teachers can focus on their core teaching and learning business. Last year our Region mentioned that 'School Readiness" was and important factor to consider before a coach was placed in a particular setting. I have learnt that a school may be deemed to be 'ready for coaching' but a number of staff in such a setting are certainly not ready or even interested. Sharon Butler also mentioned that focusing on inner self is one of the major differentiations between coaching and mentoring. I don't believe as a newly trained coach I have got to that depth with any of my coachees. As you mentioned teachers are at different levels of readiness and commitment to change. I am currently working with a young graduate and we have been working on developing a more hands on maths curriculum for her students. She is enthusiastic, well organised, professional in her approach and she has high expectations of her students. She has assessed them and she knows where the strengths and gaps are in their learning. This new teacher is also reflective about her practice. At the same school I am working with a sixty year old teacher who can work really well with the most difficult students in this setting. He has fantastic interpersonal skills and a great sense of humour. He has developed respectful relationships with each of the students in the school but he is extremely difficult to coach..... I have decided this is not the support he needs. This teacher does very little planning in the maths area and his lessons comprise of just handing out a number of work sheets some of which I know he hasn't even read because he got them off another staff member five minutes before the start of the lesson. I am not sure what his deep beliefs are about working with students. He does not appear to have a good understanding of how to teach specific maths strategies and he has very little paper work in terms of his planning and other accountabilities. I am actually at my wits end because we have been constantly told in our training that we are not to be judgemental....oh dear, I have tried but the students that this teacher works with are not reaching their full potential because he simply does not do the necessary planning or on going assessment with them. This fellow needs to be mentored and also reminded of his professional responsibilities.......Is that my job as a coach or is it the principals job? As a coach I have rightly or wrongly learnt to keep my mouth shut because I do not want to break the trust and confidentiality agreement with the coachee that I work with. In this instance the Principal is aware of what this teacher is and isn't doing. On Monday I have decided to go in as a mentor and have a conversation with him about my concerns. I will make it very clear to him that I am speaking NOT as a coach. I have also just recently coached(?) another young teacher who I felt never really connected with me or the coaching initiative. She is hard working but flies by the seat of her pants in terms of her class organisation (an observation, not a judgement) She never cancelled a pre or post coaching meeting but because of the changes in time table and the swimming program I did not have quality time observing or collecting data in her classroom. Did the turbulent and unpredictable nature of her working environment effect her readiness or wasn't she ready in the first place? Or does the close relationship she have with an older teacher who is some what sceptical of the coaching program influence her desire to really commit to it? I am not sure. The greatest challenge I have found in terms of being a teaching and learning coach is role clarity........we have been trained to coach and in many instances I have had to put that aside to do other things in a school setting because we have been placed in environments that can be very chaotic or cold and very rigid where staff do not plan or collaborate together on the curriculum. The collegiality at one school I was at last year was actually contrived and not authentic and there was spasmodic sharing of resources and staff expertise. Whose job is it to sort this out and set new structures in place so that will change? In terms of sustainability I have started focusing on departments developing a more collaborative approach to their planning, reflective practice and assessment sharing. At the small school I am at I will work with the whole staff on this also. This is how I view sustainable coaching. You mentioned in your paper Jen that "the purpose of coaching should not only be to improve student outcomes but in the process it should be developing reflective practitioners who are capable of leading and sustaining change." I could not agree with you more and principals and leadership teams play a vital role in supporting these goals The other greatest challenge in my coaching experience to date has been the leadership in the different schools that I have worked at. The leaders in these settings just don't get it ( and we can do as many presentations as we like). In some instances they really need other types of support in their schools before we coaches get placed in them.'
Regional Teaching and Learning Coach July 2009
Story 2......
'An ‘older’ teacher at one of my schools resigns/retires with very little notice late into first term. The teacher appointed (the only one available that spoke relatively fluent English) has no experience with teaching in an Australian primary school let alone a Victorian one. The grade she is given is one of the most challenging, behaviourally I’ve come across. The scene is set. “Can you work with her?” I am asked. She is keen (some may say desperate) so my ego kicks in and I take on the gig. Coaching no, support and improving outcomes for her kids, probably yes. I introduce words like VELS, Differentiation, Co-operative group structures and the like. I model behaviour management techniques and possibly engaging modes of presentation and teaching. Is it coaching – no. Was she ready – no. Did she need help – yeah. Should I have taken on the gig – you tell me.'
If you have had experience as a coach or as a teacher being coached or have had a coach in your school I would love to hear your stories.... If you would like your story published on this wiki please email it to me at; gervasoni.jennifer.l@edumail.vic.gov.au
Story 1..........
'I have read through your Action Research Paper Proposal and found it to be absolutely fascinating and it has made me rethink about the coachees that I have worked with in the past and the current ones I am with now. I particularly liked reading the number of factors that need to be taken into consideration when defining a teacher's readiness. One school that I am working at is very small so there is a lot of extra responsibilities that the staff have to take on and they simply get worn out, and coaching is I suspect seen as an 'add on' at this setting. The staff all have to meet me after school as well. This school has experienced a lot of unexpected change this year and it can be very disorderly place to work in. It would be interesting to find out if the staff in this setting believe that they do make a positive and lasting difference to the students lives that they teach. I think some do but others might not.
The other school I am at is very disorderly in terms of a clear and well documented professional learning culture.....but this is changing because a new principal has come in at the end of term one and new structures are being put into place ( eg Professional Learning Teams) The school library is now operational and library lessons are occurring for the children in the primary department and resourcing through out the school is also being looked at and improved upon.The primary team has also lead by example and shared resources and organised maths tubs in each of their rooms.
But in both these settings, particularly at the beginning of the year one did get the feeling that "student learning was being swamped by uncontrollable forces." ( I like that term) How do we as coaches fit successfully into such environments? I guess we do what has to be done and in some cases it is not real coaching first but rather supporting, mentoring and lots of light coaching stuff.
Sharon Butler mentioned in her presentation at our recent city professional learning days together that "many school based coaches function in a blended model of coaching and mentoring and I think that I do exactly that. In fact the more disorganised the school is the less you coach, and the more you mentor and role up you sleeves and get in there to get things set into place so that teachers can focus on their core teaching and learning business. Last year our Region mentioned that 'School Readiness" was and important factor to consider before a coach was placed in a particular setting. I have learnt that a school may be deemed to be 'ready for coaching' but a number of staff in such a setting are certainly not ready or even interested.
Sharon Butler also mentioned that focusing on inner self is one of the major differentiations between coaching and mentoring. I don't believe as a newly trained coach I have got to that depth with any of my coachees.
As you mentioned teachers are at different levels of readiness and commitment to change. I am currently working with a young graduate and we have been working on developing a more hands on maths curriculum for her students. She is enthusiastic, well organised, professional in her approach and she has high expectations of her students. She has assessed them and she knows where the strengths and gaps are in their learning. This new teacher is also reflective about her practice.
At the same school I am working with a sixty year old teacher who can work really well with the most difficult students in this setting. He has fantastic interpersonal skills and a great sense of humour. He has developed respectful relationships with each of the students in the school but he is extremely difficult to coach..... I have decided this is not the support he needs. This teacher does very little planning in the maths area and his lessons comprise of just handing out a number of work sheets some of which I know he hasn't even read because he got them off another staff member five minutes before the start of the lesson. I am not sure what his deep beliefs are about working with students. He does not appear to have a good understanding of how to teach specific maths strategies and he has very little paper work in terms of his planning and other accountabilities. I am actually at my wits end because we have been constantly told in our training that we are not to be judgemental....oh dear, I have tried but the students that this teacher works with are not reaching their full potential because he simply does not do the necessary planning or on going assessment with them. This fellow needs to be mentored and also reminded of his professional responsibilities.......Is that my job as a coach or is it the principals job? As a coach I have rightly or wrongly learnt to keep my mouth shut because I do not want to break the trust and confidentiality agreement with the coachee that I work with. In this instance the Principal is aware of what this teacher is and isn't doing. On Monday I have decided to go in as a mentor and have a conversation with him about my concerns. I will make it very clear to him that I am speaking NOT as a coach.
I have also just recently coached(?) another young teacher who I felt never really connected with me or the coaching initiative. She is hard working but flies by the seat of her pants in terms of her class organisation (an observation, not a judgement) She never cancelled a pre or post coaching meeting but because of the changes in time table and the swimming program I did not have quality time observing or collecting data in her classroom. Did the turbulent and unpredictable nature of her working environment effect her readiness or wasn't she ready in the first place? Or does the close relationship she have with an older teacher who is some what sceptical of the coaching program influence her desire to really commit to it? I am not sure.
The greatest challenge I have found in terms of being a teaching and learning coach is role clarity........we have been trained to coach and in many instances I have had to put that aside to do other things in a school setting because we have been placed in environments that can be very chaotic or cold and very rigid where staff do not plan or collaborate together on the curriculum. The collegiality at one school I was at last year was actually contrived and not authentic and there was spasmodic sharing of resources and staff expertise. Whose job is it to sort this out and set new structures in place so that will change?
In terms of sustainability I have started focusing on departments developing a more collaborative approach to their planning, reflective practice and assessment sharing. At the small school I am at I will work with the whole staff on this also. This is how I view sustainable coaching. You mentioned in your paper Jen that "the purpose of coaching should not only be to improve student outcomes but in the process it should be developing reflective practitioners who are capable of leading and sustaining change." I could not agree with you more and principals and leadership teams play a vital role in supporting these goals
The other greatest challenge in my coaching experience to date has been the leadership in the different schools that I have worked at. The leaders in these settings just don't get it ( and we can do as many presentations as we like). In some instances they really need other types of support in their schools before we coaches get placed in them.'
Regional Teaching and Learning Coach July 2009
Story 2......
'An ‘older’ teacher at one of my schools resigns/retires with very little notice late into first term. The teacher appointed (the only one available that spoke relatively fluent English) has no experience with teaching in an Australian primary school let alone a Victorian one. The grade she is given is one of the most challenging, behaviourally I’ve come across. The scene is set. “Can you work with her?” I am asked. She is keen (some may say desperate) so my ego kicks in and I take on the gig. Coaching no, support and improving outcomes for her kids, probably yes. I introduce words like VELS, Differentiation, Co-operative group structures and the like. I model behaviour management techniques and possibly engaging modes of presentation and teaching. Is it coaching – no. Was she ready – no. Did she need help – yeah. Should I have taken on the gig – you tell me.'
Regional Teaching and Learning Coach